Saturday 28 December 2013

Revival: You're Among Friends Review

Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Mike Norton

There have been plenty of series that have featured the dead coming back to life, but how will this more unique take match up to the others over the years? Read on to find out.

The official description from Image:

For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it's up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them. In a town where the living have to learn to deal with those who are supposed to be dead, Officer Cypress must solve a brutal murder, and everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect. The sell-out hit series created by NYT Bestselling author TIM SEELEY and Eisner winning artist MIKE NORTON is collected with bonus material!

There are plenty of comics featuring the undead going about, with Image’s own The Walking Dead being the most popular in the last decade. This series however is much more unique, as it’s much more mysterious, questioning whether it’s religiously linked or just some spontaneous event, having a more realistic tone compared to other undead related series.

One of the key things for this story being so successful has to be Tim Seeley, as his great imagination, along with his fantastic ability to write unusual stories takes this from a simple supernatural story to something much more dramatic and suspenseful. Seeley also adds a lot of character depth and emotion to this tale, making each character as unique as the story is itself. I also loved how Seeley didn’t shy away from getting ever so slightly controversial, as despite the fact that some of the character reactions could seem ever so slightly offensive to certain cultures, it makes the story much more realistic in nature, ultimately making it that much more intense.

Mike Norton’s artwork was also very impactful on this story, with the layout and character’s facial expressions adding the perfect tone and atmosphere for this tale. I also loved the graphic sequences that Norton drew as well, as despite the fact that it was the overall eeriness and  emotion to Norton’s art that appealed to me the most, the graphicness of certain sequences would add a lot of intensity and drama to the story, making it that much more impactful.

If you’re looking for something a little different than most comics then this is the series to get, as it is simply outstanding being very dramatic and intense, whilst having a very powerful subject mater.

Rating: 9/10

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